Which lights would you recommend going for, to comply with UK law? I have heard that the Hellas require 'bucket' adjustments, where as the Valeos don't. I would then suspect that the Valeos are more popular as they are more or less plug and play?

Does anyone know where I could get a set of Valeos please? I have tried to contact Dave on the number beginning with 01942 but haven't received a response from a text or call (not sure if he has changed it since, or is busy..?)

The hella sidelight bulb holder sticks out the back so if you're to use it as-is, you need to drill a hole in the bucket.

I've been supplying the Hella lights and a "halo" type inner light for years so the halo gives you the sidelight. No modifications necessary, and these lights in combination look more modern than the originals and Valeo lights (IMO)

The outer lights contain dip and main beam and must be replaced with UK "left hand traffic" lights. You must also have a white sidelight which can be provided by a little internal bulb present in both Hella and Valeo outer lights but where the Hella lights are not a direct fit for the reason stated above. The inner lights can remain original if you wish.

Could you supply me with a price for the outer lights only please? It sounds like the Valeo lights are the easiest, do you supply those or just the Hellas? If not, Hellas it is then. I can't see it being a major job to modify the buckets.

I'd go for the Valeo's if a set can be found, or the Hella's as listed on the 'other' club site. Can't say I care too much for the side lights being on the inner lights, but then I prefer a more OEM look.

MikeWard Wrote:I'd go for the Valeo's if a set can be found, or the Hella's as listed on the 'other' club site. Can't say I care too much for the side lights being on the inner lights, but then I prefer a more OEM look.

Already sorted Mike but cheers for the heads up (Got Valeos off a top guy!)

stunned_monkey Wrote:The hella sidelight bulb holder sticks out the back so if you're to use it as-is, you need to drill a hole in the bucket.

I've been supplying the Hella lights and a "halo" type inner light for years so the halo gives you the sidelight. No modifications necessary, and these lights in combination look more modern than the originals and Valeo lights (IMO)

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Martin,

These outer lamps. Are they Hella's?

What are the inners?

After changing my bulbs in my headlamps last week, and then comparing my headlight setup to another owner's car last week, it's clear why i've been having such problems with headlight adjustment etc. It seems I might have Hella's in all four positions, but with unmodified buckets. (The circular behinds of the lamps are a larger diameter than that of the circular hole in the back of the buckets, so they don't fit properly) Basically, the metal surrounds are being used to hold the lamps in, under tension with the screws, but don't sit flush with the buckets screw holes, leading to another level of headlight adjustment every time I have to change the bulbs inside. The lamps are sticking out quite proud of the bumper fascia as a result also.

Mine all say "Cibie" on them, not "Hella" or "Valeo". So i'm confused. I thought Hella's required bucket modifications, but only because of the side light position being at the back?

Anyway, i'm now wondering if I should change my headlamps, to get something that fits better in the buckets. Otherwise, i'll have to start cutting out the cable access holes in the buckets to make them larger, which is a lot of hard work.

Am I right in saying the inners should be standard model H4656's and the outers should be standard model H4666's?

I like those inners Martin. I'm thinking i might want to move away from the LED ones I have on the car right now, and fit these instead. I'm not sure if those are the same outer's as I have myself right now....? Did you modify the buckets at all to fit any of those in the pictures?

They were when I sold the car to Jay, but if you say they now have Cibie lenses, then they're Valeo units.

Perhaps Jay also tried buggering about with the lights in order to correct poor light output without getting to the root cause.

Quote:What are the inners?

They were US spec halo lights, used only for high beam (ie spotlights)

Quote:After changing my bulbs in my headlamps last week, and then comparing my headlight setup to another owner's car last week, it's clear why i've been having such problems with headlight adjustment etc. It seems I might have Hella's in all four positions, but with unmodified buckets. (The circular behinds of the lamps are a larger diameter than that of the circular hole in the back of the buckets, so they don't fit properly) Basically, the metal surrounds are being used to hold the lamps in, under tension with the screws, but don't sit flush with the buckets screw holes, leading to another level of headlight adjustment every time I have to change the bulbs inside. The lamps are sticking out quite proud of the bumper fascia as a result also.

What's clear to me is that you've jumped on something that you perceive as clearly at fault and publicly blamed it for all the problems you've been having.

Let's look at the facts.

The hella lights DO fit perfectly within the outer buckets. The problem is that the rubber boot that's supplied with the H4 lights is a tight fit. But what's wrong with clamping this into the bucket? It'd fit perfectly without it but it wouldn't then be sealed.

Why is it so difficult to adjust the light? - by your own admission, it only needs doing when you change a bulb. All the ones I've ever installed have the surrounds pulled back flush with the bucket anyway, so I doubt it has an effect on the alignement - and alignment is easy anyway, so what's the problem? It's a crap load easier than spending ages making a pigs ear of cutting up the buckets.

As for sitting proud, if the inners have also been switched then all bets are off and my comments above relate only to the outer lights. The LED Halos you -did- have do sigth about 4mm proud.

The halo lights provide the required UK-legal sidelight and avoid having to cut a hole for the hella sidelight to fit. I now do a different halo light which doesn't fit proud and uses 5W 501 types for the halo.

Rissy Wrote:Am I right in saying the inners should be standard model H4656's and the outers should be standard model H4666's?

...so I can look to see what's out on the available market of Ebay and the like.

To Martin.

I doubt Jay will have changed any of the lamps. I can only tell you what I have. I've now changed my bulbs. I don't know yet if this has made any difference in performance of the light I have for driving at night yet.

After I changed them, another owner had a look at what my setup is like. He admitted the same as me that they do not appear to be sitting correctly. Everything is jammed in tight, and bulging at the screw fixing points. Due to the lamps not fitting into the buckets correctly, instead of the screws holding the front metal plate tight against the bucket, with the lamp(s) in between, there is some good length of screw thread on each (about 1cm or more in some cases) where it's clear that the whole lamp is sitting too far forward, not inside the bucket, more just on top of the bucket. Due to this, the screws holding the lamp plates on, and therefore the lamps, are quite long (20mm-25mm long), requiring this length to bridge the gap between the bucket and the plate. due to this setup, this is providing another degree of adjustment by the screws, because too much pull on one side, provides a bigger gap on the other side to bridge and visa versa. Basically it's a balancing act to get the lamp to sit right, for correct alignment without even touching the proper adjusting screws which pull against the springs.

Maybe it's my lack of capability in describing what the issue is, which is making it difficult for me to convey the issue, but regardless, i've had another owner look at mine and say "that's not right", so i'm not on my own at least when suspecting something being not right.

so my basic questions are:

What are those lights you have in your pictures?

Where can I get them?

Do the buckets require modification to make them fit?

I'm interested, because i particularly like the inner ones from your picture, and would like a set for my car, to replace the LED ones I have now. But while I'm at it, i'd like to sort out my outer lights at the same time, to have correctly fitting units with only the designed degrees of adjustment necessary instead of the fangled adjustments i've got necessary right now ON TOP of the designed adjustment necessary.